[hubballi]

I sewed some white spring onions as well as bought some red. Planted them in new compost in a deep trough and 6 weeks on they are exactly the same size and width. I water and feed so why no growth ? In fact, newly grown whites have been planted in a deeper container and they have gone whispy and limp.

Yet another 2011 complete disaster :-(

[Ralphy]

i've always found that they take ages, i planted some outside a couple of months ago and they stayed tiny for ages but they're starting to pick up now, seems like an exponetial growth thing, the bigger they get the faster they grow. wait for a bit i don't think they're a dead loss yet

[lucywil]

i had about given up on mine because they had stayed tiny for ages but i noiced the other day they are actually starting to grow so fingers crossed for yours too

[mumofstig]

Spring onions can easily take 3 months or more to grow  ......if you want them early in the year you have to sow them in the greenhouse in winter. or sow in september for them to grow overwinter and be ready for harvest march/may.

[lazza]

I was quite surprised this year. I've never had much success either with spring onions, but I decided to go for a late sowing, to see if anything survived the winter. And although only about a dozen seeds germinated (it was an old packet of seed, which is why I probably thought I'd give late sowing a try anyway), they all survived the very heavy snow over winter (albeit a bit flattened...) and developed quite nicely for harvesting in early June.

[DD.]

Are we talking spring onions, or spring planted onion sets?

[Kenilworth]

Are we talking spring onions, or spring planted onion sets?

Was going to ask the same, if we are talking "spring onions/salad onions" then I have the same problems as other people here,year after  year it can take months to get to any decent size even though the seed packet says 8 weeks. I have tried inside a green house, outside compost filled pots, direct into soil with no success, it got to the point i didnt bother last year!!!!!!!!!!!!

[gobs]

Do they ever?

Spring onions can easily take 3 months or more to grow  ......if you want them early in the year you have to sow them in the greenhouse in winter. or sow in september for them to grow overwinter and be ready for harvest march/may.

I did just that, sowed some in the GH in the autumn. I pulled the first ones at the weekend.

[Ice]

Lawdy, hubballi, I think you ought to take up another hobby.  That's your spring onions, cucumbers, potatoes, rhubarb, broad beans, rocket, kale, radish, french beans, runner beans, beet leaves and onions all causing problems.

Maybe, for the sake of the poor vegetables you ought to take up knitting.  Nothing we say seems to help prevent this massacre of innocent veg. 

[hubballi]

Lawdy, hubballi, I think you ought to take up another hobby.  That's your spring onions, cucumbers, potatoes, rhubarb, broad beans, rocket, kale, radish, french beans, runner beans, beet leaves and onions all causing problems.

Maybe, for the sake of the poor vegetables you ought to take up knitting.  Nothing we say seems to help prevent this massacre of innocent veg. 

I thought the whole point of this forum was to get help and advice, not discouragement

[Aunt Sally]

I'm afraid there seems to be a limit to the good that our advice gives 

[digalotty]

im sure ice is just being tongue in cheek ,    dont worry my onions are no better or bigger but i will suffer leaving them in ,     my carrots were the same but are doing nicely now

[Aunt Sally]

Where abouts in Cheshire are you hubballi ?  We may have a gardener here who would be willing to visit your plot to see what you are doing wrong.  It seems quite fundamental and somethiong a good gardener would spot very quickly.

[gobs]

Lawdy, hubballi, I think you ought to take up another hobby.  That's your spring onions, cucumbers, potatoes, rhubarb, broad beans, rocket, kale, radish, french beans, runner beans, beet leaves and onions all causing problems.

Maybe, for the sake of the poor vegetables you ought to take up knitting.  Nothing we say seems to help prevent this massacre of innocent veg. 

I thought the whole point of this forum was to get help and advice, not discouragement

Ice is taking the mike, put on some sense of humour, all gardeners should have lots. It's kind of part of the job discription.  We all do have a lot of mishaps and failurs. And do not dispair. My husband is not allowed to even say about anything that it looks very healthy as it's likely to die shortly...

I have not seen the rhubarb thread. You cannot kill one of those. Cukes can have a load of problems, RDY is not such a grand variety, spring onions are slow growing, radish needs a load of water, brassica get the flee beetle holes in May/June time. The same for all of us. Cheer up! And do learn to laugh at it!

[lucywil]

I have not seen the rhubarb thread either but I have to disagree when you say you can't kill them, when we first got our plot I killed several of the bare root ones and had to end up buying one in a pot from a garden centre